Stroke or Heart Attack: Key Differences

Strokes and heart attacks are both major medical emergencies, but they affect different parts of your body and cause different symptoms. Knowing how to tell them apart can be critical during an emergency.

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Cardiologist John Mansour, MD, breaks down the key differences between strokes and heart attacks, including their causes, warning signs and how to prevent them.

Is a stroke the same thing as a heart attack?

Strokes and heart attacks are both serious medical emergencies, but they strike different parts of your body. Strokes affect your brain, while heart attacks (as the name suggests) affect your heart.

“A heart attack involves some degree of damage to the heart muscle itself,” Dr. Mansour explains. “The same basic principle applies with strokes, but it affects the brain tissue rather than the heart muscle. The processes involved in these two medical events are different, too.”

Let’s compare.

How to tell the difference

Heart attack vs. stroke, key similarities and differences

The simplest way to tell the difference between a stroke and a heart attack is by carefully (and quickly) examining the signs and symptoms.

Dr. Mansour clarifies what distinguishes a stroke from a heart attack.

Signs and symptoms

Strokes and heart attacks share underlying causes, but usually look different while they’re happening. They also tend to cause several symptoms at once, which makes it easier to tell them apart. Let’s review the common signs of each.

Heart attack red flags include:

Chest pain or discomfort (which may spread to your jaw, neck, shoulder, arm or back)
Shortness of breath
Extreme fatigue
Nausea and vomiting
Dizziness or fainting
Sudden, severe anxiety (sense of impending doom)
Excessive sweating

To spot a stroke, just remember to BE FAST:

B is for balance problems.
E is for eyesight changes.
F is for facial drooping.
A is for arm and leg weakness.
S is for difficulty speaking and understanding.
T means it’s time to call emergency services.

Different as these two lists are, there are some areas of overlap. Both conditions may cause:

Confusion
Dizziness or fainting
Problems with your limbs (mainly arm pain, weakness or numbness)
Nausea and vomiting

Another key feature of both? The need to act fast.

“Both strokes and heart attacks can be very serious, which is why you need to seek medical attention immediately if there’s a concern that you or someone else is having one,” Dr. Mansour stresses.

Causes and risk factors

Strokes and heart attacks typically share one possible cause in common: blood vessel blockages. When a blockage is the culprit, its location determines whether a person has a stroke or a heart attack.

“Both can be caused by plaques or blockages in your blood vessels,” Dr. Mansour reports. “These blockages can form in the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to your heart muscle or to your brain."

Not all strokes and heart attacks are due to blockages. Luckily, medical advancements mean that healthcare providers can identify the cause and start treatment faster than ever before.

It’s not just causes either. The controllable risk factors for heart attack and stroke are largely the same, too. And addressing them can help reduce your risk of both conditions at the same time.

Common risk factors for stroke and heart attack include:

High blood pressure (hypertension)
High cholesterol (hyperlipidemia)
Diabetes
Overweight or obesity
Biological family history

Lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and your physical activity levels also play a critical role. But not every risk factor is within your control. Age, sex, genetics and more can all affect your chances of having a stroke or heart attack.

Does it take longer to recover from one than the other?

Strokes and heart attacks don’t have set recovery periods. How long it takes to heal, physically and emotionally, can vary dramatically. How much permanent damage you’re left with depends on both the event’s severity and your medical history.

Wondering which is worse, stroke or heart attack? The short answer is: It depends on the person and the situation.

“With both stroke and heart attack, you may have a fairly quick recovery if we get the treatment initiated fast enough or it’s a milder case,” Dr. Mansour clarifies. “Unfortunately, the recovery time could also end up being significant.”

The difficult truth is: Not all damage is reversible. If you’re worried that you (or a loved one) aren’t getting better quickly enough, share those concerns with the care team. They’re the best positioned to explain the situation and what to expect going forward.

Can one cause the other?

While it’s rare, it is possible for a heart attack to cause a stroke and vice versa.

“If you have heart rhythm problems (arrhythmia) or a severe weakening of your heart muscle (cardiomyopathy), it can cause blood clots to form,” Dr. Mansour explains. “In rare circumstances, having a heart attack could cause those clots to break off and prompt a stroke.”

And the other way around?

While equally uncommon, the extreme stress of a stroke could potentially provoke a cardiac event. But the vast majority of the time, Dr. Mansour reassures that people don’t have a stroke and a heart attack at the same time.

But take note: Once you’ve had a stroke or a heart attack, your risk of experiencing the other goes up.

Get medical help fast

Strokes and heart attacks may have distinct causes and symptoms, but both are medical emergencies that demand immediate attention.

Knowing the warning signs and quickly getting help can save lives and reduce the odds of long-term damage to your brain or heart.

Different as the conditions are, you can reduce your odds of both stroke and heart attack by adopting heart-healthy habits and getting regular check-ups. Taking proactive steps today can help you protect your health for years to come.